Just a Man and His Dog by CrazySquid96

Format: Commander

Commander: Haldan, Avid Arcanist and Pako, Arcane Retriever

Bracket: 4

DeckCheck Threat Index: 47

Deck overview

This Haldan and Pako deck executes a high-velocity Temur Voltron and exile-theft strategy. The deck leverages dense 1-to-2 CMC ramp to deploy Pako, Arcane Retriever on Turn 4. Pako attacks immediately thanks to innate haste, exiling the top card of each player's library with fetch counters while accumulating +1/+1 counters for every noncreature card exiled. Haldan, Avid Arcanist converts these exiled cards into an expansive virtual hand, allowing you to play opposing lands and cast noncreature spells using mana of any color. Free interaction spells like Deflecting Swat and Fierce Guardianship protect Pako while combat enhancers such as Temur Battle Rage, Seize the Day, and evasion equipment accelerate lethal commander damage. A secondary infinite combat combo with Aggravated Assault and Bear Umbra provides a compact alternative table kill. The deck combines steady card flow, resilient commander threats, and explosive combat scaling.

Decklist (100 cards)

  • 1 Aggravated Assault
  • 1 Aqueous Form
  • 1 Arcane Signet
  • 1 Azusa, Lost but Seeking
  • 1 Bear Umbra
  • 1 Beast Within
  • 1 Birds of Paradise
  • 1 Bloom Tender
  • 1 Brainstorm
  • 1 Breeding Pool
  • 1 Chromatic Lantern
  • 1 Collective Resistance
  • 1 Command Tower
  • 1 Counterspell
  • 1 Cultivate
  • 1 Cyclonic Rift
  • 1 Deflecting Swat
  • 1 Doc Aurlock, Grizzled Genius
  • 1 Dryad of the Ilysian Grove
  • 1 Elvish Mystic
  • 1 Ensnared by the Mara
  • 1 Etali, Primal Conqueror // Etali, Primal Sickness
  • 1 Expel from Orazca
  • 1 Exploration
  • 1 Explore
  • 1 Expressive Iteration
  • 1 Faldorn, Dread Wolf Herald
  • 1 Farseek
  • 1 Fierce Guardianship
  • 1 Fog
  • 5 Forest
  • 1 Fyndhorn Elves
  • 1 Gaea's Gift
  • 1 Haldan, Avid Arcanist
  • 1 Heroic Intervention
  • 1 Invert Polarity
  • 5 Island
  • 1 Jeska's Will
  • 1 Kessig Wolf Run
  • 1 Ketria Triome
  • 1 Lightning Greaves
  • 1 Llanowar Elves
  • 1 Mana Sculpt
  • 1 Memory Lapse
  • 1 Misty Rainforest
  • 6 Mountain
  • 1 Mystic Sanctuary
  • 1 Mystical Tutor
  • 1 Nalfeshnee
  • 1 Nature's Lore
  • 1 Noxious Revival
  • 1 Obscuring Haze
  • 1 Overprotect
  • 1 Pako, Arcane Retriever
  • 1 Passionate Archaeologist
  • 1 Pym Particles
  • 1 Reclaim
  • 1 Rejuvenating Springs
  • 1 Resonating Lute
  • 1 Rhystic Study
  • 1 Rogue's Passage
  • 1 Scalding Tarn
  • 1 Seedborn Muse
  • 1 Seize the Day
  • 1 Skarrg, the Rage Pits
  • 1 Slip Out the Back
  • 1 Sol Ring
  • 1 Spire Garden
  • 1 Steam Vents
  • 1 Stomping Ground
  • 1 Swiftfoot Boots
  • 1 Sword of Feast and Famine
  • 1 Taiga
  • 1 Talrand, Sky Summoner
  • 1 Temur Battle Rage
  • 1 The Lost and the Damned
  • 1 Three Visits
  • 1 Trailblazer's Boots
  • 1 Training Center
  • 1 Tropical Island
  • 1 Twinflame Travelers
  • 1 Vandalblast
  • 1 Volcanic Island
  • 1 Wild-Magic Sorcerer
  • 1 Winged Boots
  • 1 Wooded Foothills
  • 1 Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth